Miles and miles of Gulf Coast shoreline makes Louisiana a smugglers’ dream. Illicit drugs flood across her borders from Mexico and the Caribbean and float up the Mississippi River to points north. Drugs in Louisiana are all too easy to obtain, therefore. While marijuana and cocaine are the most abused drugs in Louisiana, there is no shortage of methamphetamine and every type of prescription drug.

Louisiana is in the process of reforming some of the most punitive drug laws in the country, trending toward treatment rather than incarceration for minor drug offenders. This means that a growing network of drug and alcohol treatment centers statewide is in place to help stop minor drug habits from growing into major addictions. For citizens of Louisiana, drug and alcohol rehabilitation is a matter of finding the right center, not just of finding one at all.

The array of treatment programs and rehab facilities can be intimidating to people who never thought they would ever need to deal with a substance abuse problem at all. In Louisiana, drug and alcohol treatment programs range from detox centers to residential living programs to mental health counseling. Most larger communities in Louisiana have at least one drug or alcohol treatment center. While public programs are available, they may not offer the full range of services required to deal with your particular problem, and you should evaluate private clinics carefully to understand their services, experience, and quality of care.

Busy clinics may tend toward a “one-size-fits-all” approach to drug and alcohol treatment. Shun any facility that seems to take this attitude. Effective drug treatment programs are tailored to the individual. In addition, modern drugs are so highly addictive, and so often produce differing effects, that rehab centers in Louisiana or elsewhere must be experienced in treating them to be effective.

At the least, any competent drug and alcohol treatment facility offers inpatient care to manage the sometimes life-threatening symptoms of withdrawal; long-term counseling; behavior modification therapy; and wellness programs such as nutrition and fitness to rebuild debilitated bodies. Louisiana families should seriously consider looking farther afield if the local clinic cannot offer all of these key elements.

Many times, an addict is simply overwhelmed by the stresses of daily life. Families and friends can enable an addiction without realizing it, and of course, the temptations of the liquor store and the medicine cabinet remain, a hazard to any outpatient. While Louisiana families cannot be blamed for wanting to seek treatment in Louisiana, drug and alcohol treatment is often more effective when the addict is completely removed from his old lifestyle for awhile. Inpatient care, within the walls of a safe, peaceful facility free of distractions, allows the addict to focus on recovery instead of daily problems.

Drug and alcohol treatment is available to everyone in Louisiana. Rehabilitation centers and programs can offer the sort of help a family cannot give an addict by themselves, but they can only help if you pick up the phone and get started.